I just watched a great interview on the French news featuring former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and French actor Vincent Lindon. The reason the two were both guests on the news were quite diverse. Giscard d’Estaing had served as president during the formation of the European Union in his term from 1974 to 1981, and he was there to share his opinions on the current financial crisis in Greece and Italy. Vincent Lindon was there to talk about his latest movie that deals with the crisis of personal debt in France, Toutes nos envies (Toot noze envee) or All Our Desires. In his previous movie, Pater, Lindon played a Prime Minister.

At the end of the interview, Lindon clearly had something he wanted to get off his chest. He told the distinguished politician that when he was about 14, one of his friends got Giscard d’Estaing’s personal phone number. Lindon and friends would call late at night hoping that the President would NOT answer, but that they would get to hear his voice on the answering machine, “Vous êtes bien sur le répondeur de Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.” He said if the President remembered about six months of late-night hang-up calls, Lindon and friends were to blame. Clearly delighted by Lindon’s confession, the aristocratic gentleman invited the actor to call him directly any time. All of Lindon’s youthful desires just came true.